How Not to Be a Tourist in Kyoto

In any given city, there’s one thing on which all locals can agree: Tourists ruin everything. They stand to the left on escalators. They congregate on sidewalks. They can’t figure out how to buy transit passes. They use selfie sticks. It’s enough to make even the most patient resident’s blood boil.

The city of Kyoto recently took this matter into its own hands and released an etiquette manual for tourists—complete with an emoji metric of severity. The guide, produced in collaboration with TripAdvisor, features 18 “akimahen,” or don’ts, for visitors to Japan’s former capital city. Some of the advice is universal—“keep toilets clean,” “let those who need it have priority seating”—while other tips offer up some local color. For instance, tourists should say okini, or “thank you,” instead of tipping, and refrain from grabbing maiko performers by their kimono sleeves.